The present invention relates to the field of film and video photography. In particular the present invention discloses a panoptic camera device that captures virtually all the light that converges on a single point in space.
Most cameras only record a small viewing angle. Thus, a typical conventional camera only captures an image in the direction that the camera is aimed. Such conventional cameras force viewers to look only at what the camera operator chooses to focus on. Some cameras use a specialized wide angle lens or xe2x80x9cfish-eyexe2x80x9d lens to capture a wider panoramic image. However, such panoramic cameras still have a relatively limited field.
In many situations, it would be much more desirable to have a camera system that captures light from all directions. For example, a conventional surveillance camera can be compromised by a perpetrator that approaches the camera from a direction that is not within the viewing angle of the camera. An ideal surveillance camera would capture light from all directions such that the camera would be able to record an image of a person that approaches the camera from any direction.
It would be desirable to have a camera system that would capture the light from all directions such that a full 360 degree panoramic image can be created. A full 360 degree panoramic image would allow the viewer to choose what she would like to look at. Furthermore, a full 360 degree panoramic image allows multiple viewers to simultaneously view the world from the same point, with each being able to independently choose their viewing direction and field of view.
The present invention introduces a panoptic camera system that can be used to capture all the light from a hemisphere viewing angle. The panoptic camera comprises a main reflecting mirror that reflects light from an entire hemisphere onto an image capture mechanism. The main reflecting mirror consists of a paraboloid shape with a dimple on an apex. The surface area around the dimple allows the main reflector to capture light from behind an image capture mechanism or a second reflector. When two panoptic camera systems that capture the light from an entire hemisphere are placed back to back, a camera system that xe2x80x9cseesxe2x80x9d light from all directions is created.
A stereo vision panoramic camera system is also disclosed. The stereo vision panoramic camera system comprises two panoramic camera systems that are separated by a known distance. The two panoramic camera systems are each placed in a xe2x80x9cblind spotxe2x80x9d of the other panoramic camera system. By using the different images generated by the two panoramic camera systems and the known distance between the two panoramic camera systems, the range to objects within the panoramic images can be determined.
Other objects feature and advantages of present invention will be apparent from the company drawings and from the following detailed description that follows below.